Business

NewOcean auditors resign due to significant outstanding documents & information

Outstanding information is mainly due to lockdown in Mainland China, Macao, Malaysia and Singapore where the group also runs its business operations.

Published

5 years ago

April 30, 2021

Admin

Hong Kong-listed NewOcean Energy Holdings Limited (NewOcean) on Thursday (29 April) said Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte) has resigned as auditor of the Company with effect from 29 April 2021.

According to NewOcean, Deloitte submitted a resignation letter citing the following as the reasons for the company’s withdrawal:

Significant supporting documents and information outstanding, causing delay in the audit progress for the audit of the NewOcean’s consolidated financial statements for FY 2020 in particular:

(1) NewOcean’s management assessment on the material uncertainty related to going concern, given

that the scheme meetings have been adjourned;

(2) NewOcean’s management impairment and recoverability assessment on certain assets, such as properties, plant and equipment, goodwill, other intangible assets, deposits paid, trade receivables and other debtors;

(3) other major outstanding information to complete the remaining work to audit FY2020.

NewOcean’s business operations are located, apart from Hong Kong, in Mainland China, Macao, Malaysia and Singapore and the situation of significant documents and information outstanding is mainly a result of the lockdown in the above countries and regions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As there has been no tangible progress to date with respect to the outstanding documents and information and considering that Deloitte has been unable to reach a consensus with NewOcean on the estimated timetable to complete the audit, Deloitte tendered their resignation as auditor.

In its statement, NewOcean confirmed that there is no disagreement between the company and Deloitte.

NewOcean’s Board has appointed Crowe (HK) CPA Limited as the new auditor with effect from 29 April 2021 to hold office until the conclusion of its next annual general meeting.

Due to the change of the auditors, the company expects the audit of FY 2020 to be delayed to the end of June 2021 subject to the latest development of Covid-19 pandemic in Mainland China, Macao, Malaysia and Singapore.

The group recently recorded net loss of HKD 2.366 billion (USD 304.3 million) during FY 2020, mainly due to the drop in gross profit and additional impairment provision for goodwill, intangible assets, trade receivables, other receivables, inventories and property, plant and equipment, etc.

Photo credit: NewOcean Energy Holdings Limited
Published: 30 April, 2021

Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

Published

10 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July).

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions.

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Published

10 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Published

10 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post.

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024.

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026